How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character (by PaulTough)
Assignment with reference to the book:
How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character (by
PaulTough)
NOTICE: Please answer the following questions with NO MORE than two
paragraphs each. You should answer those questions stating the argument that is
made by author of the book, and not your personal opinion on the topic asked.
1) Why does the author claim that recent findings on the relationship between
human neurochemistry and social context challenge the conventional wisdom
about what is important for success in life?
2) According to the author: how can parenting mediate the negative effects
associated to exposure to stress during infancy and behavioral problems in
aduhhood?
3) What mechanisms were described by the author as leading to the increase in
performance in cognitive tasks that was observed in the M&M experiment,
and in the difference between low and high stakes cognitive tests found by
éegai?
4) When comparing KIPP Infinity to Riverdale students, why does the author
suggest that character skills development would matter differentially for
students in each group to succeed?
5) What was the purpose of introducing the Character Report Cards in KIPP
Infinity School?
6) What is the nature ofthe disagreement between J. Rowson and J. Wwith
regards to the importance of IQ in chess playing?
7) What does Spiegel’s chess teaching success suggest about the needs of early
adolescents to succeed?
8) What is implied by the author as the reason for why high school GPA has been
found to be a better predictor of college graduation than ACT scores?
6) C) home work questions
Home Insert Layout Review View
A… s A E E E E :: E 1i

9) What does Jeff Nelson’s OneGoal’s road map to college graduation have in
common with Angela Duckworth’s strategy called ”Mental Contrasting with
Implementation Intentions”?

10) What are the key components of the OneGoal strategy for closing the
achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their more advantaged
peers?

SECTION 2

The book suggests the hypothesis that interventions that affect non-cognitive

skills in adolescents can be effective in closing gaps that arise from early

disadvantage. Based on your knowledge of labor economics: what challenges do
you think economists will have in evaluating the effectiveness of those types of
programs using actual data? Do you think that the evidence highlighted in the
book is sufficient to sustain the claims made by the author? (Answer in no more
than 5 paragraphs)